Physicians’ ethical obligations to disclose conflicts of interest to patients and to obtain their informed consent for treatment are particularly critical when proposed treatments are experimental.
The organ transplantation system is viewed as one of our most equitable health care services, but poor patients are effectively excluded by policy that denies Medicaid coverage of post-transplant immunosuppressant medication.
The proliferation of enhancement technologies and pharmacological agents has perpetuated the view of American doctors and patients of medical care as a market commodity driven by what consumers want and are willing to pay for.